Thursday, September 20, 2007 11:05 AM CDT

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Folk ballet full of pageantry

By Dan Craft
dcraft@pantagraph.com

First things first: "Quetzalli" is pronounced "kets-AHL-lee." It comes from "quetzal," a Central American bird famous for its brilliant bronze-green and red plumage.

If it's a male of the species, you can add: "with long flowing tail feathers."

In other words, you know one when you see one.

At least in Central America.

The pronunciation and definition are important when discussing Mexico's Ballet Folklorico "Quetzalli" de Veracruz, which may seem quite a mouthful for the uninitiated.

The "Ballet," the "Folklorico" and the "de Veracruz" are probably easily deduced by English-speaking types: It's a folk ballet troupe from Veracruz, silly.

But it's the "Quetzalli" part, in quotes, that may trip some of us up as we make our way to the troupe's performance at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts (part of the Twin Cities celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which began Saturday and continues through Oct. 15).

The brightly plumed bird reference isn't applied lightly, as audiences will immediately see when the company of 12 dancers and five musicians take to the stage for its high-flying fiesta of movement and pageantry, with more plumes per dancer than any old bird.

As with many of the global performing acts that have been passing through the BCPA in its first year, the dancers and musicians themselves don't speak English well enough to submit to the interrogation of a stateside journalist.

But the group's all-American manager for the past 20 years, Steve Heath, knows whereof he speaks when he speaks of Ballet Folklorico "Quetzalli" de Veracruz.

For example: He's quick to point out that the ballet is not to be confused with the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico, which performed several years back at Illinois State University's International Fair and, more confusingly, just this past week at the University of Illinois Krannert Center in Urbana.

That company is the official national ballet of Mexico.

The "Quetzalli" troupe is located in Veracruz, the state on Mexican's east coast. It is part of the Huasteco Region, which encompasses several states and is the home of the Huastec culture dating back to the early part of the first millennium, says Heath.

The Christian religion was introduced in the 1500s by the Spanish conquerors, but the ceremonies retained elements of Native American culture.

Also impacting traditions, says Heath, is the fact that Veracruz was the most active port city on the country's Atlantic coast side. "Everything came through that part of the country," says Heath. "Hence, the rich European influences."

The colorful cross-pollination of cultures from that region gets the main emphasis in a performance. But it is just one of the seven Mexican regions traversed through a night with the Ballet Folklorico "Quetzalli" de Veracruz.

Encountered en route will be everything from Aztec dances to cowboy dances from the state of Baja California to the original version of the country's best-known musical export, "La Bamba."

But this is not your father's Ritchie Valens "La Bamba" or your sister's Los Lobos "La Bamba."

This is the original "La Bamba," first performed three centuries ago in Veracruz, when pirates of the Caribbean were in full flower, and taking prisoners was the order of the day. One of the original lines, says Heath, translates into English as "I'm not a sailor for you," a prisoner's declaration to his pirate captor.

Needless to say, the song's meaning evolved over the centuries, all the way from piratical anthem to traditional wedding song, during which the bride and groom performed the traditional "La Bamba" dance -- a ritual colorfully re-created by the Ballet Folklorico.

"The trick in doing it," Heath says, "involves the dancers laying out a long ribbon across the floor of the stage. Throughout the course of the dance, couples try to tie a bow with the ribbon using only their feet."

He adds, "Hopefully, at the end of the piece, you see six pretty bows tied on the floor."

Though it's a challenging maneuver to perform under any circumstance, whether nuptial or choreographic, Heath says the dozen dancers' success rate at tying all six bows is "pretty good."

Meanwhile, the ballet's seven-region tour of Mexico requires seven costume changes, all of which tend toward the quetzal-like in their brilliant hues and plumage. Filling in on stage during these changes is the band of five musicians who keep the evening moving to a beat even when the dancers are off stage, says Heath.

Program notes handed out at the performance will aid travelers in the audience in negotiating the cultural and religious significances of each of the dances from each of the regions.

Even without those aids, Heath says, "everything can be appreciated on a basic level simply by watching what's happening."

And what will be happening Friday night on the BCPA stage, he adds, just might put your average quetzal to shame in terms of sheer colorful spectacle.

At a glance

What: Ballet Folklorico 'Quetzalli' de Veracruz

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts, 110 E. Mulberry St., Bloomington

Tickets: $18.10 to $28.50

Box office number: (866) 686-9541

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Mexico's Ballet Folklorico 'Quetzalli' de Veracruz brings its colorful mix of movement and pageantry to the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Friday. (For the Pantagraph/ARNOLDO DELAO)

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